Her law career began as a clerk for the Hon. Judge Debbie O.Dell Seneca in Washington, PA. Mills then joined the law firm of Dodaro, Kennedy & Cambest where she served as the solicitor for several municipalities and school districts, including Elizabeth Forward. She also worked as a trial attorney in both state and federal courts with the firms of Feldstein, Grinberg, Stein & McKee and Andrews & Price. She currently is admitted to practice in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

An honors EF graduate, Mills was active in sports and a variety of extracurricular activities. She played trumpet in the marching band and French horn in the concert band. A sports enthusiast, she ran track and also wrote the Time Out column as the senior sports editor for the Warrior newspaper. She participated in the Academic games as the part of the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program and was a member of the National Honor Society and the Society of the Quill & Scroll.

In 1987, Mills earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College where she majored in the both political science and policy & management studies. While at Dickinson, she was a resident advisor, food service supervisor and president of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She received a Juris Doctorate degree in 1990 from Pepperdine University School of Law where she was a teaching assistant for the Legal Research & Writing classes and a participant of the Vincent Dalsimer moot court competition.

Mills is one of five children, all EF graduates, of the late Samuel Donald Scagline and Betty Munger Scagline Kisner. Her mother and stepfather William Kisner were members of the first EF class to graduate from the current high school. Her brother, Michael graduated in 1971 and is self-employed. Her brother, Rodney graduated in 1985, went onto to Carnegie Mellon University and is now a metallurgical engineer. He sister, Rhonda Wingrove graduated in 1985, attended Brandeis University and the Medical College of Pennsylvania and is currently a family physician in Charleroi. Her sister, Dawn Valentino graduated in 1989, attended the University of Pittsburgh and is a visiting nurse for UPMC/Jefferson Regional Health Care.

She and her husband, David reside in Forward Township. They were married in 1992.

Community service as an active volunteer and a member of various community boards is an important part of Mills. life. She organized Law Month, a program that provides activities and presentations in the EF schools which focus on good citizenship, avoidance of behaviors that lead to crime and understanding local government. Past programs have included the demonstrations by the Allegheny County 911 van and crime dogs and presentations by representatives from the state and district Attorney General.s office as well as local government officials. A special focus in this service has been the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Mills is a member of the McKeesport 20th Century Club which sponsored fundraising activities in support of area charities such as the Long Run Children.s Learning Center. She is secretary of the Elizabeth Forward Student Aid Fund which provides college loans for students residing in the EF district. She is vice president of the Board of Directors of Womansplace, an agency dedicated to the support of individuals and families exposed to relationship abuse by providing shelter, legal and medical advocacy and options counseling. She also serves on the boards of the Elizabeth Forward Alumni & Friends Association and the Round Hill Cemetery.

As a district judge, Mills has performed over 100 weddings. She is secretary for the Special Court Judges of Allegheny County and a committee member for the State Association of Special Court Judges.